The four suspects in the gunning down of 49-year-old businessman Stavros Demosthenous a few metres from his Limassol home last month will remain in custody until their trial begins at the criminal court on January 29, 2026, it was decided on Monday.
The suspects – aged 51, 31 and two 30 – were taken before the Limassol court on Monday following Friday’s proceedings, due to objections raised by the 51-year-old’s defence.
The defence lawyers of the other three suspects had not objected to their clients remaining in custody.
The court said the 51-year-old should remain in custody as he did not have any close ties in Cyprus and may leave the country.
One 30-year-old is allegedly linked to the sale of the motorcycle used as a getaway vehicle, the second 30-year-old convict allegedly gave instructions from inside the prison for the purchase of the motorcycle, and the 51-year-old’s DNA was found in a stolen vehicle used to monitor the victim’s moves.
The 31-year-old had initially been arrested for complicity after the murder, as he was allegedly the person who helped one of the two 28-year-olds arrested in Greece to get away via the north.
During the course of investigations, he was rearrested for further reasons linked to the murder, as he was allegedly the person who ordered the fake licence plates for the stolen vehicle.
His DNA was also found on a hat dropped by one of the perpetrators while getting away on the motorcycle after the van used during the ambush was torched.
The extradition of the two 28-year-olds by the Greek authorities is pending. They had been arrested in Thessaloniki on a European arrest warrant.
Stavros Demosthenous was shot dead while sitting in a car next to his 18-year-old son in the Ayios Athanasios area of Limassol on October 17.
Police investigations have so far revealed that the bullets that killed Demosthenous were probably fired from a van that was driving right in front of the car that he and his son were in.
The vehicle was later found to have been set on fire, while a motorcycle, which is believed to have been used in the killing, was found abandoned in the Limassol area.
